Diabetes

LegacyUser

hi i have just been diagnosed with diabetes and am now on insulin im finding if very hard to take and to do my injections any help would be appreciated!

embee

You should talk to your GP. He/she will be able to give you advice and practical demonstrations on how to do your injections and check your blood sugar, as well as give you dietary advice etc.

Nevyn

Irish Diabetic Association
or try Diabetes Federation of Ireland , Tel: 01-836 3022 Fax: 01-836 5182, 76 Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin 1.

yes I know they are dublin based but they will have a listing of support groups arround the country.
Or try getting in touch with you local health clinc.


Pretty helpful to go talk to others that have had to adjust thier lifestyle from sugar level testing to what you
can get away with eating.

It's not easy but you can reduce the ammount of insulin
you need to take by adjusting you sugar intake and that includes " hidden " sugars.

Talk to you GP about this, and find out if pills or even an insulin implant coudl be an option for you.

I know that at the moment it is a big shock to discover and deal with that fact you are a DIABETIC but once you get a routine you will not no longer be a DIABETIC
but a person who just happens to have diabetes and monitors thier sugar levels.

Good luck.

yellum

My fathers a diabetic and I have a few friends that are too. The blood checks and the daily schedule of injections can be a right pain to start with but just keep slogging away and within no time you'll not really be bothered by them at all.

Its always hard to start with but there are various groups out there as offshoots of the Diabetic Clinics in the Hospitals that are of great help.

Depending on your age and the lifestyle you lived pre-diagnosis it can be easy or hard to adjust. You may sometimes think Diabetes is a leash thats holding you back but nowadays thats not the case at all.

Also start looking at the American Diabetes websites and you might find better injection pens and blood testing meters.

mike65

Welcome to the club!

Mike.

Victor

My niece was diagnosed a few years ago and forcing her to do blood samples for the first while was horriffic, however, while she is completely ditzy, she has no problem doing it now.

I'm on medication and what I do is keep a diary of everythign I take, so I know when I've forgotten something.

Winters

Visit the Diabetes Federation Of Ireland website at diabetes.ie. It will provide you with help, information etc. on diabetes. It is somethign that many people actually have but just dont know so in a way you are luckey it was spotted beofre it got dangerous. Diabetes company here provide injenction pens (through your Doctor only!) which make it easier and less complicated for insulation injections.

an_taoiseach

FEDUPGUEST,

I read that about 10% of the population is in the same situation as yourself - just that ( unlike you ) most of them dont know it.

Another ( Quite helpful ) US site :

http://www.diabetes.org/info/diabetesinfo.jsp



An T

mike65

Originally posted by an_taoiseach
FEDUPGUEST,

I read that about 10% of the population is in the same situation as yourself - just that ( unlike you ) most of them dont know it.

er not quite, that referes to Type 2 diabeties which is'nt insulin dependent....

Mike.

dudara

It's great that you've been diagosed, because diabetes can lead to horrible things in the future if not treated. You have to adjust now to hving your life controlledby regular blood tests and insulin injections, but if you ever feel like it's not worth it, just think how terrible your life would be otherwise.

Diabetes leads to increased risks of obesity, heart attacks, circulatory problems (eventually leading to amputation for some people), impotence for males. By controlling your diabetes now, and getting into good habits, you're doing your utmost to ensure that these things will never happen to you.

Just don't get into the habit of using the insulin to control your sugar levels. Make an effort to do that yourself as well by monitoring what you eat. If you leave it entirely up to the insulin, over time you can actually build up an intolerance.

Good luck with this, it's a big thing to have to live with. Just be sensible about it, and after a while, you'll hardly notice it.

yellum

Originally posted by dudara

Diabetes leads to increased risks of obesity, heart attacks, circulatory problems (eventually leading to amputation for some people), impotence for males. By controlling your diabetes now, and getting into good habits, you're doing your utmost to ensure that these things will never happen to you.

Hang on now a sec. Someone thats in control of their ailment will not have these. The side-effects or result of not being in control of diabetes will lead to what you have stated.

Scare the newbie why don't you ?

As for obesity, it is a cause of diabetes, diabetes is not a cause of obesity.

dudara

while you're young it's easy to forget that theses things can happen to you, and you think you're invincible. But they can happen if you ingnore diabetes, or mistreat your insulin. So it's important to develop good habits. Once you do, the risks are nominal.

It's a serious disease, and treatment for it has to be taken seriously. I'm not scaring anyone, diabetes is scary enough on it's own.

tbh

Dudora,

I'd just like to make a very respectful point. You said
"It's great that you've been diagosed, because diabetes can lead to horrible things in the future if not treated. You have to adjust now to hving your life controlledby regular blood tests and insulin injections, but if you ever feel like it's not worth it, just think how terrible your life would be otherwise."

I know when I was diagnosed (10 years ago), I wished people wouldn't say "It could be worse". Of course it could, but then of course it could be better. It *was* better for everyone else, and it had been better for me before I was diagnosed. Saying it could be worse just negates what you are going through - although I fully accept that thats not what you meant, and probably nothing could be further from the truth.

FEDUPGUEST - I'm far from being the model diabetic, but I've had it for ten years now, and it hasn't affected my life - in as much as I've noticed anyway. I've become used to injecting and testing now, and to be honest, if it were cured tomorrow, I'd probably have to inject something, because I would be constantly thinking about injecting if I hadn't already. Its like washing your teeth, I guess, or its become that way. Of course its a pain in the arse, I won't try to kid you, but it it wasn't the diabetes, I'd be pissed off at something else anyway, you know what I mean? I look after myself as much as I can, and so far t.g. everythings been fine, it certainly hasn't stopped me from doing whatever it is I want to do, like travelling or sport or whatever. A few minor adjustments and its grand.

Anyway, I'm rambling now, if you want to talk or ask me (as a totally unqualified practising amateur) any details, feel free to pm me.

Good luck,
Caimin